INDIO (CNS) – A contaminant responsible for causing a food-borne
illness that sent more than 40 shuttle drivers for the Coachella Music & Arts
Festival to hospitals was identified by investigators, county officials said
today, but it remained unclear exactly what food item was tainted.

One driver who became ill shortly after eating the shuttle bus
company’s employee-catered dinner for the festival took some of the food home.
Staphylococcal aureus (Staph) — a toxin that can cause nausea, vomiting,
stomach cramps and diarrhea — was detected in the food sample by a state
health department laboratory, according to the county.

However, since the food items were mixed, health officials were unable
to determine the specific food item that caused the sickness.

“Through collaboration with Environmental Health and the vendor, we
have been able to interview hundreds of people who attended the dinner with the
idea of determining the circumstances around the meal,” Kim Saruwatari,
director of the Riverside County Public Health Department, said in a statement.
“The goal was to identify the specific food or item that caused so many to
become ill.”

More than 300 interviews were conducted by investigators with the
Riverside County departments of public health and environmental health, both
with people who became ill and those who did not.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Staph-related food illnesses last one day at most and severe illness is rare.

The agency warns against keeping perishable food in room temperatures for over
two hours to avoid food poisoning by Staph.

The investigation to find the source of the food-borne illness was
limited to shuttle drivers who reached out about their illness and sought
medical care from a hospital or medical provider within Riverside County.
More than 40 people were taken to three hospitals within the Coachella
Valley following the dinner.

Shortly after midnight on April 25, the Riverside County Fire
Department received several reports about sub-contracted shuttle drivers
feeling ill after eating food from the same caterer.

Shuttle drivers reported feeling nauseous and vomiting.

No attendees of the music festival were affected, according to officials.

CNS-05-13-2022 13:06

Staph Detected in Meal That Affected Coachella’s Shuttle Bus Driver